Following months of speculation and intrigue, Nissan officially announced Friday its entry into the LMP1 class for 2015, which will see a two-car full factory program in the FIA World Endurance Championship with the legendary GT-R model.

The Japanese manufacturer’s all-new prototype, the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, will take on the likes of Audi, Toyota and Porsche in what will be a global effort encompassing technical resources and facilities in Japan, Europe and the U.S.

Ferrari chassis technical director James Allison says he has no problem with the team searching for new technical talent to bolster the team – and he remains confident in the support that he receives from the management.

Stories about an approach to Adrian Newey continue to make the headlines, although not surprisingly new team boss Marco Mattiacci denied yesterday that he had made one.

Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champ, will compete in his first Indianapolis 500 before flying to Charlotte for that night’s Coca-Cola 600. (Photo: Getty Images)

For more than a decade, the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s World 600 — now known as the Coca-Cola 600 — in Charlotte were held on different days, setting the stage for Cale Yarborough to make history in 1967 as the first driver to complete both races in one year.

But since both IndyCar and NASCAR have raced on the same day, the feat of running in both events has been pulled off eight times by three different drivers. Kurt Busch will attempt to add to that list Sunday, as the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion makes his first start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Worldwide, Volkswagen Golf is by far the biggest selling car in Europe and gaining fast in Asian and South American markets. In the U.S., not so much. Here, most drivers hold a grudging dislike for compact hatchbacks, equating them with the late and unlamented econoboxes of past decades.

Which explains why the U.S. launch of the impressive new seventh-generation Golf and performance GTI models comes a full year later than their introduction overseas, where they have succeeded in boosting sales amid critical acclaim. The U.S. intro is important to VW, though, because it wants to raise the profile of what the automaker calls “the heart of the brand.”